¶So we flew around Hurricane Helene last night. She was making landfall in the big bend. We were approaching Fort Lauderdale International. I thought our flight would be canceled, but we pushed back at Detroit Metro on schedule and actually had a relatively smooth flight. It was late, so I didn’t get any photo-worthy views of the storm, but I tracked it and our flight as we were underway. I think we went a bit further East that the route would normally follow, taking us nearly over the Bahamas, but otherwise you might not have known that Helene was raging on the other side of the state.
Stream
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/2024/09/27 at 2:43 PM
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¶Jake debriefed us in the parking lot of the Flight Center afterwards. I don’t think he stopped smiling the entire time. I didn’t capture it in an image, but a fun moment happened right after I took this photo. A buddy of Jake’s was walking into the Flight Center and saw Jake in the parking lot. Apparently knowing Jake had just had his first flight in the twin engine, he asked Jake how the landings went. Jake replied with a simple “great,” to which his buddy responded with an equally as simple “bull shit!”.
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/2024/09/22 on September 23, 2024 at 1:56 PM
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¶Renee and I thought Jake was done flying after that first landing but he ended up doing a few more up and downs after that. We ran an errand so we missed those, but the timing worked out perfectly beacuse he landed for the final time right as we finished, giving me a chance to catch him leaving the plane.
¶I didn’t have to ask him how the flight went…that smile told me everything I needed to know.
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/2024/09/22 on September 23, 2024 at 1:18 PM
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¶That’s a proud mom!
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/2024/09/22 on September 23, 2024 at 1:08 PM
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¶Wheels down!
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/2024/09/22 on September 23, 2024 at 1:07 PM
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¶Jake was on final approach a few minutes later, heading in for his first landing in a multi-engine plane.
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/2024/09/22 on September 23, 2024 at 1:06 PM
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¶I love this shot for so many reasons. I took it a few seconds after that last overhead shot of Jake. He’s the dark speck visible in the upper third of the frame here, still flying perpindicular to and away from the runway. I watched Renee as she watched Jake. I caught several frames of this particular moment but I like this one the best because it’s nearly the last one in the series. The size of the plane in the photo and Renee’s stance remind me that she watched him fly away as long as she could. What a great moment for all of us.
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/2024/09/22 on September 23, 2024 at 1:05 PM
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¶Jake returned toward the airport 30-40 minutes later, initially flying over the field before turning into the pattern. We had a great view of his flyover, too, as his path went directly overhead.
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/2024/09/22 on September 23, 2024 at 12:59 PM
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¶And off he goes. I missed the exposure on this frame, but some creative processing let me deal with the blown out highlights in a creative way, I think. And, if you look closely, it shows the landing gear being retracted. Another first for Jake–retractable gear.
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/2024/09/22 on September 23, 2024 at 12:56 PM
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¶We didn’t have to wait long. Jake was probably the third or fourth pilot to depart. We watched as he manevered into line, had his run up, and turned to face East on the runway. I was so excited for him–he’s been looking forward to flying a twin engine plane since the moment he earned his pilot’s license. And I was so happy to have captured this particular frame, with the front wheel up and the rear wheels still on the ground.
¶I can only imagine the excitement he’s feeling in this second. It might match the pride and absolute joy I’m feeling in the same second.
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/2024/09/22 on September 23, 2024 at 12:51 PM
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¶I’ve learned enough about general aviation (and flight schools) to know that scheduled departure times are mere suggestions. The sunrise provided some amazing light, so I captured some other images while we waited.
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/2024/09/22 on September 23, 2024 at 12:42 PM
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¶This is not Jake (he’d say ‘obviously, it’s a single engine plane....’). I took this and a few other shots of the first flight of the day to dial in my settings. I never got the shutter speed right (frozen props!), but was mostly happy with everything else. This first flight headed West on takeoff, giving a perfect view of the sunrise. I’m not sure why, but the airport changed direction on the runway right after this (Jake departed to the East a few minutes later).
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/2024/09/22 on September 23, 2024 at 12:39 PM
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¶What a view! We’ve got the perfect spot, with a perfect sunrise to boot.
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/2024/09/22 on September 23, 2024 at 12:34 PM
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¶Jake told us about a great spot that sits right alongside the main runway, which pretty much let us get as close as we could without getting in trouble. Jake and his buddies have used this for watching their other buddies take off and land. Apparently it’s all good, just as long as you don’t flash posters to judge the landings–Jake speaks from experience on that.
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/2024/09/22 on September 23, 2024 at 12:32 PM
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¶Jake was scheduled to have his first flight in the twin-engine Piper Seminole bright and early this morning, so Renee and I got up early and headed down to BG to watch. He had called us earlier (at about 5:45 AM!) to make sure we were awake and getting ready. That’s a twist in roles!
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/2024/09/22 on September 23, 2024 at 12:29 PM
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¶As a kid, I hated hearing my dad say he didn’t have time to do this or that because of work. Not so much things with me, but things for him. He never had a hobby or worked out, because he never had time. I’ve consciously tried to avoid that as my career developed – Daystream and photography are two examples of me spending plenty of time on non-worky things just for the fun of it. I’ve neglected both recently, though, and I’m a bit upset about that. I’ve been on the verge of telling myself “I just don’t have the time,” but dear old dad is still helping me today. I’ve got plenty of time for work and both of those things (and other things). I just need to prioritize and manage it better.
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/2024/09/16 at 12:48 PM
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¶We had a great brunch at the Toledo Club this morning. Jake drove up from campus after having his first commercial/multi-engine ground session. So we had a really nice meal over discussions of variable-pitch propellers and landing gear. Is there a better way to start a Sunday? I don’t think so.
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/2024/09/15 at 6:15 PM
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¶We had dinner at a Toledo classic tonight - Webber’s in Point Place. It was really a beautiful night — warm but not hot, breezy but not windy. Jake came up from school to join us (perch dinner beats dorm fare!). The food was good, but seemed less than what I remembered, although it’s easily been more than twenty-five years since I’ve been there.
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/2024/09/08 at 11:18 PM
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/2024/09/08 at 7:10 PM
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¶We’re fighting the streaming wars again. DirecTV’s deal with Disney expired recently and the two sides have not agreed on terms for a renewal. So, we’ve lost ESPN from our DirecTV channel lineup. This comes right as college and pro football seasons get underway, too. We haven’t decided if we’ll make a change yet, but we’re looking.
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/2024/09/07 at 1:26 PM
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¶We’re heading home today. We wanted to wait for breakfast at the hotel, so we’re getting a bit of a late start. Breakfast is served in three minutes.
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/2024/09/02 at 9:58 AM
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/2024/09/01 at 6:18 PM
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¶Today is phase three (of four for them, three for us) of the moving adventure — moving everything into the new apartment. Moving in Boston is always an adventure. I was prepared for a bit of a battle over the parking spot, but luckily people honored the hood over the meter. We had to ask a guy to move his U-haul back a bit (into his hooded spot), but he was glad to do so and we really had no issues.
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/2024/09/01 at 2:31 PM
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¶We stopped at a flea market in downtown Somerville on our way to dinner. The colors in this vintage Libbey glass packaging caught my eye.
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/2024/09/01 on September 8, 2024 at 2:17 PM
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¶Moving day! Moving weekend, actually. We’re helping Jonathan and Kassia move into their new apartment. Moving in Boston is always an adventure!
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/2024/08/31 at 1:20 PM
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